Banish the Ikrar Aku Janji Pelajar for UPSR students

Updated 7 years ago · Published on 29 Jul 2018 7:31PM · 4 Comments

THE education minister must immediately put a stop to the practice of primary schools making standard 6 pupils who are sitting for the UPSR examination sign a document called Ikrar Aku Janji Pelajar.

This Aku Janji puts tremendous pressure on children and we don’t need any more to land in the psychiatric clinics. In 2017 there were 331 new cases at the children’s psychiatric clinic at the  Penang General Hospital, and the total number attending the clinic at the end of 2017 were 3,054 cases. What about in the other states, and those not going to the clinics?

The unholy purpose of the Aku Janji is merely for the prestasi of the schools and the head teachers. You see, their promotions depend on the rating of the schools through examinations.

The Aku Janji document reads as follows, “Saya (name) berjanji dan berikrar bahawa saya akan belajar bersungguh-sungguh dengan penuh semangat dan iltizam dalam peperiksaan UPSR 2018.

“Saya akan memberi sepenuh perhatian dan tenaga terhadap pelajaran demi mencapai keputusan yang cemerlang.

“Saya akan taat kepada Tuhan, kedua ibu bapa, penjaga dan para guru yang mendidik saya.

“Saya juga akan mematuhi segala peraturan sekolah dan sentiasa menjaga nama baik sekolah”.

Below these statements is a table in which the child is required to fill in the sasaran by himself, after obtaining his trial exam results. Those who did well in the trial exam are all required to sign this pledge and to mark “A” as their target mark in the exam proper.

The document is required to be signed by the pupil, the parent/guardian and the class teacher.  

What happens if the child does not achieve the “sasaran’ he has marked in the Aku Janji?

Was the signing of this pledge by 12-year-olds approved by child psychologists?

The schools would do a lot better to handle discipline issues properly and produce children of good character.

* Ravinder Singh reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.

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Comments

  • Things like this deserve scrutiny & remedy or adjustment. It has been reported quite often in the last few years that mental health issues, like OBESITY, have been increasing among Malaysians..

    Posted 7 years ago by MELVILLE JAYATHISSA · Reply

  • If the statIstIcs are reaffIrmed... then just do away with this Aku Kanji declaration as it creates undue pressure on students, and merely for the benefit of the teachers, principals and the school..

    Posted 7 years ago by Thiruchelvam Thirunavukarasu · Reply

  • "Saya akan taat kepada Tuhan" ... What if the child's parents wishes to bring the child up as an Atheist?

    Posted 7 years ago by Yoon Kok · Reply

  • While I understand that the promise document may add undue pressure on the children sitting for UPSR, I think you have to be a lot more careful in co-relating this together with the psychiatric cases in the hospitals. If this link is even related. Children elsewhere have end up in the psychiatric clinics, or died by suicide due to exam and life pressures even without such promise documents. In other words; this is making mountains out of molehills.

    Posted 7 years ago by Aziff Azuddin · Reply